Importer accreditation by third party soon in place

FINANCE Secretary Margarito Teves has signed a Customs Administrative Order (CAO) which allows the accreditation by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) of information validation service providers (IVSP) to accredit all importers.

In an interview at the sidelines of the recent general membership meeting of the Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc, Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the CAO on the IVSP will be published this week.

“We have been working on this… since the second quarter of the year and finally it has been approved by the Department of Finance,” the commissioner said.

“My agency will make the needed publication requirements and will put it into force at the start of next year,” he added.

Under the CAO, IVSPs will be accredited to validate information disclosed by importer applicants for accreditation and risk-management purposes. The IVSPs will also be tasked to conduct audit and physical site evaluation of applicants.

Initial reports reveal more than one IVSP will be accredited by the BOC. This is a departure from the very first draft CAO circulated by the BOC in which only one IVSP would be accredited.